The Blog of Robert Van Valkenburgh
One of the primary influential factors on our level of satisfaction is quality. When a product, service, or experience is of high relative quality, we tend to be more easily and long-lastingly satisfied by it. Conversely, if a product, service, or experience is of low relative quality, we tend to be less satisfied by it. [...]
Iriminage (entering body throw) is the quintessential Taikyoku Budo technique because every technique in Taikyoku Budo begins with irimi. Irimi is the principle of taking space, displacing one’s opponent’s body with one’s own. As Ellis Amdur explains, “As the enemy cuts, so, too, do I cut. Not ‘along’ the same path. ON THE SAME PATH. [...]
Growing up, we rarely ever ate fast food. My mother cooked, my grandmothers cooked, and we had family dinner every night, with Sunday dinner and holiday dinners sometimes at my grandparents’ houses. That is not to say that we did not have junk food or snacks, but most of the food we ate was homemade. [...]
If there is a Platonic form that represents the ideal espresso, it exists in a ceramic cup, a demitasse. Glass is also good, but definitely not a paper cup. Paper cups are, by their very nature, disposable, intended for low quality products and low quality experiences. Espresso deserves better and the vessel it is served [...]
Yonkyoku or Spiraling Downward At the heart of Taikyoku Budo (太曲武道) is the belief that all martial movements can be subdivided into five themes or kyoku (曲). These themes create the basis for our solo practice, but also act as a sort of filter through which to analyze and incorporate techniques from other martial studies [...]